There are few trails I have enjoyed more than the Island Trail in Walnut Canyon National Monument.

It has everything from wildlife and a wide variety of plant species, to spectacular vistas and intimate exploration opportunities, all within a one-mile loop … as long as you’re up for navigating 240 steps down into the canyon and back up again.

This national monument is located just outside Flagstaff, Arizona — on the east side of town via Interstate 40. I arrive at what I think is 4:45 p.m., worried because a sign at the gate says the park closes at 6 p.m. and no one is allowed on the Island Trail after 4:30 p.m. However, I forget that Arizona doesn’t do the whole daylight saving time thing so it’s really only 3:45 p.m. Whew.

There are really only two trails in the park, and the Island Trail is the one that can’t be missed. So down I go, beginning my descent along the steep, winding staircase.

I’m immediately rewarded as nature puts on a show. Six or seven turkey vultures are careening through the canyon, flying in circles less than 100 feet from where I’m standing. They may not be the prettiest birds, but they are still a kick to watch.

As I continue my descent, I pass a group of young workers climbing out of the canyon. A sign at the top warned of construction on the trail, closing part of the loop. So I’ll have to retrace my steps when I reach the construction.

Along the way I stop to read the informational signs about the canyon. The Sinagua people — most likely ancestors of today’s Hopi Tribe — lived in cliff dwellings here in the canyon and in pueblos on the rim from about 1125 AD to 1250.

The canyon remains a favorite place for local tribes to collect plants for medicinal and ceremonial use. Small signs along the trail provide information about the plants, listing tribal names and explaining how they were used by the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Hualapai, Yavapai and Apache. For example, some used prickly pear for food, while others used its juice for pottery clay and its spines for tattooing and piercing.

Still, the cliff dwellings are the obvious attraction here. As I descend, I can see some across the canyon in various directions. They aren’t as majestic as those found in Mesa Verde National Park, but they are still fascinatingly situated under overhangs in the cliffs, seemingly inaccessible at first glance. Yet the ancient inhabitants used game trails as well as their own engineered pathways to travel from their cliff-side homes to farms on top and their water source — Walnut Creek — below.

Most of the rooms found in the Walnut Canyon were not actually “dwellings” but were used instead for storage. However, the overhanging ledges where the rooms were constructed did provide shelter from the weather and some were used for sleeping.

The main descent into the canyon ends as I proceed toward the loop, which circles a promontory — the “island” — that stretches out into the canyon. While there are no public trails leading to the cliff dwellings across the canyon, the Island Trail promises to take me right alongside a few on the promontory.

Before I reach any of the preserved cliff dwellings, I come across an area where visitors destroyed an entire section in the late 1800s, when looting was widely considered to be an acceptable practice. Because of this, some lobbied for federal protection of Walnut Canyon. President Woodrow Wilson eventually established the monument in 1915.

Initially I’m in the shade, hiking along the east side of the promontory as the sun sinks behind it to the west. Near the southeast corner I finally come upon a few somewhat preserved rooms where the native masonry is still partially intact.

It’s even better as I round the southern end of the island into the direct sunlight and alongside a nice collection of well-preserved dwellings. While a few of them have signs in the doorway prohibiting entrance, others are open for visitors to explore.

I enter each one where I’m allowed, taking the time to turn and face the canyon to see what the original inhabitants might have seen as they looked out. Plus, these shady areas can be a nice respite from the sun on warm days.

The southwest side of the promontory has an even better collection of cliff dwellings, which I also take the time to explore before running into the construction and turning around. Normally I hate backtracking, but this trail is so gorgeous I don’t mind.

While ascending the steps to climb 185 feet out of the canyon, I take a few brief rests, which allow me to enjoy the scenery even more. Without the cliff dwellings, this would still be a beautiful hike; with them it’s simply spectacular.

I have such a good time I’m hesitant to leave the monument. So I decide to tack on the mostly flat, 0.75-mile Rim Trail as well. It follows the rim briefly before looping back toward the parking lot and passing a mesa-top pit house and a two-room pueblo along the way. A spur trail from the loop continues along the rim to an overlook.

By the time I finish, though, it’s about 6 p.m. and the monument is closing. But now that I have discovered Walnut Canyon, it’s going to become a regular stop for me when I visit Flagstaff.

Contact Brian Passey at brian@thespectrum.com and follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PasseyBrian or on Twitter and Instagram, @BrianPassey.